WEEK 7

[bathymetric]

Another Saturday gone and just like that you wake on Sunday, down five of your number. The largest dent taken out of you at once so far - it's surely noticeable, the head count being cut by a third. Almost enough to make you wonder how many of you will even be left by the next motive or two. Surely this isn't a sustainable rate for body counts to increase... right?

There's a new and, it looks like, final wing of the building to explore, bringing everything full circle. Maybe you'll get some more answers to some of the questions and mysteries of this place there - or at least, you can certainly hope for them. Time to turn your investigative eyes towards one last batch of rooms, who knows what you might find?

Angel remains around at night, her appearances much more common now that... well, she's certainly seen a downtick in necessary surveillance work, hasn't she? The app giving you a line to The Professor remains open, and well... whatever's going on with that ouija in the library continues to happen! You're not suffering from a shortage of leads, at least, even as things get more bizarre.

Something's going to have to give here, eventually. Right?



SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to your last player case week! AC is over here, regains as always are over here, and... well, enjoy! After this we get to take our big turn towards the Serious. ]

Comments

[blackmass]

[As usual most of Kirei's time was spent keeping to himself in the garden or chapel; he did pass through the dining hall enough that it didn't seem like he was starving to death, but now more than ever he'd become a bit reclusive. He had begun to look a little pale on occasion as the week wore on; either stressed by the situation or simply exhausted.]

Garden

[bolderfell]

Hey.

[Therion's up in a tree eating an apple, but the sight of Kirei gives him pause.]

...You all right?

[blackmass]

...I'm fine.

[He didn't sound it.]

[bolderfell]

[Yeah, sounds fake.]

...Look, I'm not one to stick my nose in other people's business. But when other people's business has a tendency to stick us all in the rear each week...

[blackmass]

It's nothing worth killing over. If I was going to do that, it would have been done long before now.

...I still suspect the reasoning for these particular motives is to force the hand of someone specific.

[bolderfell]

...So you do think he picks each of his marks from the beginning. He's not playing to the broadest audience among us.

[blackmass]

That's exactly what I think. Zelos Wilder, Nova, Anna Fugo and Rhea--can you really say those offers were not tailor-made to them specifically?

Someone among us desperately wants their powers back. Or there's something else going on.

[bolderfell]

To me, it seems like this setup's just asking for an unfortunate accident... but you might be right. It's those offhand asides he makes that tend to tip the balance one way or the other. He didn't just offer the full recovery of our abilities--he offered more.

Think someone will still find that worth it, when the Professor loses more and more control over this every day?

[blackmass]

... [Kirei turned uncomfortably quiet at that, just for a moment.]

Losing control...hm. I do think someone will find the risk worth it. Particularly if the Professor's reign over our powers should include their physical functions.

[bolderfell]

...Like Alice's.

[blackmass]

Something to that effect, yes.

[bolderfell]

[Therion's turn to be quiet for a moment.]

Then the good news is these last couple days have given us a better idea of what some of us can do... but not all. Can't exactly go around interrogating everyone without coming off as suspicious, either.

...Think we did find out something important about how the Professor works, though.

[blackmass]

And what would you think that something is, specifically?

[bolderfell]

He tried to make it seem like that flash of light is what gave us our powers back, but you heard those... whispers, too, right? I didn't think anything of it at the time, but yesterday, Angel was covering her ears. The Professor wasn't able to control her. Too close for coincidence, don't you think?

[blackmass]

Indeed--however he does it has something do do with sound, or perhaps his voice. I would call it a variant of hypnosis magecraft, though that seems too light a term for all of this.

[bolderfell]

Hypnosis? What's that.

[blackmass]

[really, kid]

To use magecraft and one's words to put another under the power of suggestion. The Church and Association occasionally utilize it to modify memories where killing witnesses to the use of magecraft is less efficient, for example.

[bolderfell]

[Does he LOOK like someone who would know what hypnosis is?]

--So that could be why we lose that day, too. We're not unconscious for it. We just don't remember.

[Memory is the key.]

[blackmass]

[i swear to god]

Very likely. Though I can't claim to know what might go on those days specifically for us to lose the entire time.

[bolderfell]

There any way to check ourselves for this hypnosis thing? Or to undo it?

[blackmass]

None that I can think of, least of all when the existence of such is a mere hypothesis.

[bolderfell]

That's why I asked if there was a way to check. ...Besides plugging my ears up on a Friday night.

[blackmass]

...Actually, not a terrible idea given our limited information.

[bolderfell]

I'll do it. Just wish there was something to try sooner.

[blackmass]

Little point in regretting what can not be changed. What else can one do but alter their course as they learn more?